Glum and Blah
"Glum and Blah" is the twenty-fourth chapter of Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger. Synopsis Miss Nogard reads the minds of the students to make them feel bad. Plot This chapter opens with Miss Wendy Nogard entering Mrs. Jewls's class, looking at everyone's bright and chipper faces, knowing that by the end of the day, they would feel glum and blah. She introduces herself, and scans to see the room to figure out the bad thoughts in everyone's heads, as the bad thoughts usually float to the top of the head. Calvin is worried that the orange juice spilled on his lap will make it look like he went to the bathroom in his pants, Dana is worried that her new haircut makes her look like a boy, Jason is annoyed by his brother, Justin, who is more successful than he is, D.J. is upset by a song on the radio he heard that he doesn't like, but can't forget, and Bebe Gunn has an itch on her leg. Even some students, like Jenny, don't necessarily have anything bad on their minds, but worry about what could go wrong, such as her worrying about having an accident when horse-riding. Miss Nogard gets to work, asking what everyone's been working on. Mac raises his hand, but she calls on Dana instead, asking for the "boy in the orange and purple shirt." Dana corrects Miss Nogard, but feels worse from the embarrassment. Miss Nogard hears another voice of a student who doesn't want to be called: Benjamin Nushmutt. Miss Nogard calls on Benjamin, who starts to introduce what they're working on, but before he can finish, Miss Nogard asks for his name. Benjamin struggles saying his name, but Jason is able to help out. Miss Nogard then says Jason looks familiar, and accidentally-on-purpose calls him "Justin." Jason corrects her, but Miss Nogard only continues going on about how great a student Justin was. Throughout the rest of the day, she continues to do small things to upset the students in her class, like asking Calvin if he needs to use the restroom whenever she passes by him, humming the song stuck in D.J.'s head, and scratching her leg near Bebe. Miss Nogard looks out the window at the bright blue sky, saying it looks like it could rain. Jenny is upset, thinking she can't go horse riding, and Miss Nogard continues to talk about a story where her nephew went horse riding on a day like that, where the sky looked sunny, but a sudden thunderstorm spooked the horse, knocking him off. Miss Nogard explains that her nephew broke every bone in his body, but stayed positive, which was the most important part. However, when class is dismissed, no one is feeling positive, even the usually-happy D.J. Louis asks what's wrong, and D.J. says he probably just had a bad day. Louis asks if the kids like their new teacher, and they all agree that she's nice, while all dwelling on their own perceived problems. Louis rubs the hair on his upper lip, which is starting to grow back, and asks for her name. Bebe tells him, and when he asks if it's "Mrs. or Miss," Bebe says she's pretty sure it's the latter. She asks why, and Louis shrugs. Characters *Miss Wendy Nogard *Calvin *Dana *Jason *Justin (mentioned, debut) *D.J. *Bebe Gunn *Jenny *Mac *Benjamin Nushmutt *Miss Nogard's nephew (mentioned, debut) *Louis Trivia *This is the first chapter where Miss Wendy Nogard takes over as substitute of Mrs. Jewls's class. Gallery Glum and Blah 1995.jpg|Joel Schick illustration Glum and Blah 2003.jpg|Adam McCauley illustration Glum and Blah Illustration.jpg|Peter Allen illustration Glum and Blah Bebe Louis.PNG|Peter Allen second illustration Dana Sad Glum and Blah.jpg|Peter Allen third illustration Category:Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger chapters Category:Book chapters